The Tale of Yarrow
by DaggerLobo
Summary: This is based on a girl named Willow Yarrow who doesn't want to go on a pokemon journey like the rest of today's youngsters because of a unique gift of understanding pokemon language due to a past event. However when picked by Professor Sycamore after moving into Kalos she gains an urge to find out why, and thus starts an adventure of her lifetime.
1. My Name Is Willow Yarrow

**Chapter 1: My Name is Willow Yarrow**

**Author's Note:**

** This is based on a girl named Willow Yarrow who doesn't want to go on a pokemon journey like the rest of today's youngsters because of a unique gift of understanding pokemon language due to a past event. However when picked by Professor Sycamore after moving into Kalos she gains an urge to find out why, and thus starts an adventure of her lifetime. **

**I have to mention this and that is that I do not own Pokemon (No Duh). It belongs to Nintendo.  
**

* * *

_My name is Willow Yarrow, close friends call me Will, and I recently moved Kalos, specifically in this REALLY small town that I can't spell yet nor care to recollect. I'm almost 13 years old, and I used to live in Jhoto where my mother did races with her ryhorn, AKA The Rock. We… And by that I mean she decided to move to Kalos because of what was happening with my dad. All that needs to be known is that they got divorced and she wants to start fresh and do some. She also did it for me. Meet new friends… Start my journey again… Yeah I'm looking forward to THAT. Just to let you know new diary is that I had the journey before. In fact you can call me a mini Vet. Mostly because I only lasted until the third gym before I wanted to go home. Like I said before in dairy number 1, I can't live losing my pokemon again. I can still hear their screams… Everyday I hear them._

_In case I lose the other diary, I will say this Number Three of the Diary Line. I can talk to pokemon… I know it seems like a great gift and at first I thought that too, but it's not. I don't even know how it started either, I was just born with it. Mom knows, and thinks it's great since I now how to solve problems with pokemon since they can just tell me, but I don't like it. Yeah it's helpful… Yeah I can solve problems. But I can't stand the pain. I'm depressed now… So I guess the reason is out of the bag of why I don't want to go on my journey. To grow up, but my mom hopes that one day that I can deal with it. I just don't know. I don't think I ever will._

* * *

Willow closed her yellow journal rubbing her head since she was getting something she called anxiety flashes. It's when a certain memory comes in either out of nowhere or through word association that had something painful or humiliating in it, causing you to re-live again. She got up, and rubbed her shoulder from when the Fletchling tackled her. _'Geez… Did it have to be so hard? I have no doubt that I might get a bruise.'_ she thought while putting on her high black knee socks, red and black dress, and black sneakers, cause hey it looked good, and toped it off with her favorite red hat. "Looking good today Willow. Now it's time for breakfast." she said as she adjusted her hat. With that Willow took her purse since she was planning on going shopping around the next town, and went downstairs.

"Morning, Willow!" called her mother as she went out of the kitchen, probably making breakfast as usual.

"Morning Mom."

"You sure slept well! All rested up from the move?"

"Yeah I guess… I mean… My arms are still sore, but no harm done!" Willow says this as she takes some eggs and eats

some. Her mother sat down with her on the red couch and had coffee, crossing her legs. "Amazing right? Coffee?"

"Heck yeah… Um… So how long till your next race?" Willow asked as her mother went to get a cup. Willow studied her

new house before her. This was home. Well… Aside from the new furniture since the debate between her mother and

father of what to keep what… She silently nodded her thanks to her mom as she got her coffee, lots of cream with sugar.

Though lately the sugar has been cut down to three as opposed to five spoons. Baby steps people… Baby steps.

"Not for another week or so. I'm glad that this didn't last a week. Pokemon are amazing when it comes to getting things done huh?" her mother, also known as Grace, commented as drank her coffee and placed an arm around her daughter. They were just enjoying the silence as the Fletching from before wandered around peeking at its food. They were enjoying themselves until her mother yawned. "Well it's about time you get going, and meet the neighbors. Since you were busy yesterday."

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaugh… Right now? I wanna be lazy!" Willow said in a joking tone as she sprawled out on the couch while her mother gave her a look. "Alright, alright! I'll talk with the other people…. I know there are some other kids around here…"

"That's my girl!" Grace said as she patted her daughter's head. There was still a pause though as Willow was relaxing. "Is this year going to be the year?" Grace suddenly asked and Willow paused.

"For what?" Willow asked as she was caught off guard.

"You know… For your journey." Grace said as Willow blinked a couple of times and looked away. "Only way to get over it all… Is to move forward. Your already doing well we the newest addition to out house" Grace says as she motioned to Fletchling as Willow got up and walked to the door, but not before leaving her coffee cup behind.

"Can we talk about this later?" The blackhaired girl started to walk towards the door only to find a surprise.

"Welcome to Vaniville Town~!" said a calm and yet happy voice. Willow recognized these two. They met yesterday but didn't talk because moving into this new place exhausted her that she just went to bed early and didn't talk to anyone. She knew it was rude, but she'll make it up somehow.

"My name is Calem, and I'm your neighbor." Introduced the dark brunette in the blue. Well he seemed okay, so she might as well introduce herself as well.

"Pleasure my name Is Wil-"

"AND I'm Shauna! Great to meet you!"

"low… I'm Willow. Um… I'm from Jhoto. Sorry we didn't talk yesterday since I was a bit busy."

"It's okay! Moving takes a lot of work! Sooooooooooooooo… Guess what!?"

"Wh-"

"We've come to get you!"

"Wait, wait, wait! Back up here! Why? Your not coming to kill me are you?" Willow looked terrified. She knew all that gambling in Goldenrod would come back to bite her in the butt!

"No." Calem says with a chuckle, thinking that she was joking. "The esteemed Professor Sycamore lives here in the Kalos region. I was told he has a request for five kids, including us."

"Oh… Good for you! Though I don't see why I am coming along. I barely know the guy, and I DID just move here." So far her first impressions… Calem like what she assumed before was nice, and seemed to respect this professor a lot. Shauna… Shauna reminded her of a hyper girl she once met in Jhoto with pigtails as well who went on her journey from New Bark town with a Chikorita. This girl seemed just as nice as well since she and the young male did come to see her.

"Needless to say though I am just as surprise seeing how you just moved here that he even knows you. How did you two meet?"

"We talked yesterday, I know that… It just seems weird that I am being asked this."

"Oh I see! He must have sensed something from you… See here in Kalos trainers are picked rather it being a universal thing."

"That's a bit weird… Where I am from it didn't matter, you got a pokemon and were shoved out the door with a backpack and phone, and sometimes a potion. But that aside I don't think I should come." Willow said, and Calem shrugged while Shauna spoke up.

"You have to! You were picked."

"Yeah I get that, though I don't understand why. He sensed something about me? Great that he thinks I'm a swell person, but I think it might be better to stay for me to stay here. Get to know that town. It's nice that he picked me, but I'm not the girl for the job."

"We'll wait for you in the next town over! And you know what!?"

"Wh-"

"We're going to get… A pokemon!" Shauna said like it was the greatest thing in the world. And it was since pokemon was a big deal. Little monsters to keep in your pocket that will protect you is a good deal, but Willow… Willow didn't like the idea of keeping animals that could very well kill her. Why did no one think of this?

"No. Sorry but I…" Willow began to say and then paused since what could she say? Should she tell the truth or lie? They're looking at her, expecting an answer.

"I-I have a thing with pokemon. See I had a very bad experience and it scarred me for life." Willow made up an excuse, which wasn't far from the truth.

"OH!" Shauna pauses and looks at Calem. "Well you don't need to worry! We'll help you!"

"I don't think I'm suited for this… Ask someone else." Willow says as she backs off into the door. Calem notices this and decides to show some understanding.

"Your afraid… I can see that. Everyone gets nervous since they are powerful creatures. As of why they even stand by us is a mystery to use even to this day." Calem starts as Shauna nods in agreement. "But they can also bring joy. I see that you have pokemon with you already." He said as he looks over at the Ryhorn.

"It's my mom's. She races with it." Willow explains,

"And what's ryhorn like?"

"He's… Well The Rock is what we call him. But he's a great ryhorn. Rather calm for one actually." Willow says as she looks at the sleeping Ryhorn called The Rock. "We used to have more. He had two younger brothers… He protected them, and he does the same for our family, but I don't see why… Oh… I see." Willow says as she realizes what Calem is trying to do.

"Will you come with us?" Calem asks as Shauna adds,

"We can wait for you! We'll be leaving around 11 or so to talk to the Professor. Later!" in a very chipper tone. Willow takes a moment to think about it. "I'll see what I can do." Willow responds as Calem nods and Shauna goes off with him, waving good-bye.

Willow stands at the door way before going over to The Rock. She didn't wake him up, but sat on him like her mom would do in a race. She wanted to think without going back inside. "If I do go it could happen again. If I don't... What do you think?" Willow asks to the sleeping ryhorn, but it just snored in response. "Your right… Maybe walking will help."

Willow says as she gets off the creature and begins walking around, talking to some of the neighbors. She was ever surprised since she encountered Calem's mom.

"So how old are you?" Calem's mom asks as she gardens with her Roselia.

"Well… I'm around 13 or so. So... What do you do for a living?"

"Well Harold and I are pokemon trainers." She explains as Roselia gives her some seeds.

"Wait… Your pokemon trainers and your staying home?"

"You never really stop training. Even when you settle down."

"So you don't have to travel to be a trainer?"

"No, traveling is the fun part! Sometimes though… You don't complete it. Doesn't mean you get rid of your dreams completely. Just have to do it another way. So… Why are you still here? I hear that you were picked by the professor along with my son."

"Oh! Um… The pokemon scene isn't really for me." Willow explains with her hands raised while Calem's mom raises an eyebrow.

"Nothing wrong with that… It is a big step." She says not probing it at all. "But it is something wroth doing when your picked." She adds as Willow leans on the tree and knocks over a pail. "OH! Sorry." Willow picks up the pail that was holding her tools, and starting putting everything back.

"So… What if you fail? What if you fail your pokemon?"

"Failure is part of life, and the point of the journey is to experience life, no one else can do it for you, so might as well do what you have to do. Failure is never fun, but it's up to you and you alone on how to deal with it." Calem's mom explains as Willow brushes off her skirt.

"Well… I'll see you later. Nice talking with ya." Willow says as she goes off to explore more of her town and then pauses at the gate to route one. She looks at the gate and clenches her fists. "I must be losing my mind… But I have to know why I was chosen… Here I come Sycamore." she says to herself as she opens the doors, and took her first step towards an adventure that she'll never forget.

Willow went through route one and looked back. "That… Was oddly boring. I was expecting more. In New Bark that route you couldn't go unless you had a pokemon." Willow said to herself as she ventured into Aquacorde Town. She looked up at the sign and kept on going. As she walked through and made it to a little café area she heard her name being called.

"HEY WILLOW! THIS WAY! OVER HERE!" called out Shauna, and Willow briefly wondered if she should just keep on walking… But they already saw her so that was it. Now it was time. She walked over here, now she should own up to her choice. As she sat down, she noticed two other boys. A Big kid, and a kid that she thought was a girl at first because of the bowl cut style.

"We were just talking about you! C'mon! Have a seat! Sit your bubble butt down!" Shauna called as Willow made the effort to smile.

"Yeah? Hopefully not about my butt." Willow said and added in her mind, _'Cause that would be weird.'_

"HA! Funny!" Shauna said as drank her drink, her legs kicking under the table. Probably the reason why she was at the head, since who wanted to be kicked in the shins? Calem took this time to speak.

"I'm glad you came. I was worried since it was almost time to go… Anyway this is where we usually meet up. This is Tierno, he wants to become a dancer. And this is Trevor, he's a studious student under Sycamore."

"Nice to meet all of you…" and Willow had nothing else to say. She was stuck… What could she say?

"Wow… The way Shauna described you is spot on!" said Tierno, who apparently has some sweet dance moves.

"You know… It'd feel like we will be a closer crew if we call each other by nicknames." Tierno said and Willow didn't say a thing because she felt awkward.

"Um… I don't think that I want one thanks. I'm glad as Willow."

"Oh come one! I'll call you Lady W?" Teirno suggested,

"Um… N-"

"NO way! She's a Lil'W for sure!"

"No. Thank you." Willow said with a straight face, but she was ignored… Instead Shauna went on to asking Trevor.

"WHAT?! You want me to nickname someone I just meet!? Don 't put people on the spot like that. Well… How about something low-key like… W'kins." Willow stared at Trevor and the rest of them.

"What?" she asked when everyone was looking at her.

Then Calem suggested that SHE pick the nickname. Not how nicknames work, but she would take that. She couldn't think of anything other then her last name, and it was what most people call her. "Yarrow, or Will." She said with a shrug since she was out of creative juice.

"Your last name?" Calem asked, and Willow nodded though was surprised that he knew that it was her last name. '_Maybe he spoke with my mom?' _she thought to herself.

"It's fits! I'm sure that we're gonna be the best of friends! So I will call you that too!" Shauna exclaimed, very excited, though Willow didn't say anything but give a nervous smile.

"Let's get some pokemon!" Shauna was getting impatient that the table was moving due to her legs. Teirno smiled as he reached down and picked up a box. "This is the beginning of your partners!" Teirno exclaimed as he opened the box. This was it… Willow wasn't sure if she was ready for this… Maybe this was a dumb idea?

"You pick first Will!" Shauna suggested which Willow took as a surprise. She was expecting her to go right in, but Shauna showed self-control and was allowing her to pick. Wearily Willow reached to pick a pokemon, the one in the middle.

"You picked a Fenniken!" Teirno said and asked if she wanted to give the little guy a name. Though Willow didn't want to get too attached she decided to call him something.

"S… age?"

"You want to call him Sage?" Teirno asked,

"This thing is a boy?"

"Well yeah you can tell by-"

"Okay, okay! I… I see it Trevor."

"You can call me Trevs!"

"… Uh sure!" Willow said as she released Fenniken, AKA Scorch out. She looked down at the fire fox. It was… Cute. Maybe this will be worth it-

"_Oi! Where am I_!?" Scorch said with a yip as he looked up at his trainer.

Or perhaps not… Willow's eye twitched as she looked down at Sage, and gulped. "Hey there Sage!" Willow introduced herself,

"He's ssooooooooooo cuuuuuuuuuute!" Shauna gushed as Sage turned around. He looked at her in a moment of confusion.

_"Where am I? Where's the rest of my friends?"_ Sage asks as he looks everywhere, and then sniffs her legs.

"I uh… Come here little Sage!" she says as she picks up the little fox. "I'm sure that whatever your looking for is around here somewhere!" she says as Sage looked around confused before he found his friends, in the lap of Shauna and on the head of Calem. _"Friends! What's going on? This girl is telling me not to worry! Should I bite?"_

"Please don't." Willow whispered as Sage's friends told him to calm down and enjoy. Sage stood there for a moment before sitting and allowing Willow to pet him.

"Uh… Pardon me, but I have something for you from the professor as well… I have something that will help you understand pokemon and register them the moment you see them. It's called the pokedex." Trevor said as he gave the three new trainers a pokedex. Willow wanted to say that she already knew what it was. She did the journey before so she just smiled and nodded.

"Yarrow! Take this with you too. It's a letter for your mom." And that made Willow realize that she was waiting a bit too long to take the letter as she was a bit distracted from thinking. She took it, and wondered what she would need to say to her mom. Willow got up from her chair with Sage near her feet, oddly quiet. Probably trying to understand these humans before him. It couldn't have been his first time around people since it was probably Sycamore that caught them.

"Alright let's go Sage." Willow said as Sage followed her around already. She didn't want to put the pokemon back inside of it's ball since she wanted the little guy to get exercise. Who knew how long he was in there.

Right when they reached the first route though… Someone called out her name. Willow looks back, "Yes?"

"Your going to be my opponent Yarrow! Me and Lil' Chespin need our début, and you're the trainer to dish it out!" Shauna exclaimed as Sage and Willow looked at one another for a moment. It couldn't hurt to fight a little bit. "You're a fire type right?"

_"Yes!" _Sage yipped with a tail nodding.

"Good. That's all I need to know because… I need you to fight Chespin." Willow said as the battle started. Chespin came out, waving to Sage.

_"HEY! HEY! We fighting!? OOOOOOOOOOH! I love fighting! It'll just be like when we first hatched!"_ States the Chespin as it hops around happily. Sage and Willow stare at it.

Sage wasn't sure if he wanted to do that, so he looked back at Willow, questioning the logic behind it. "It's okay! You won't kill him-er… Her. It's just for fun." Willow explained as best she could while Shauna waited. Sage tilted his head at her before closing his eyes to think about it.

"_Alright!"_

"Great! I want you to use ember!" and that's when it begun. The first attack that Sage heard, so he blew out small flames to hit Chespin. It accepted the hit and grunted.

"Vine Whip!" Shauna called as Chespin's vines hit Sage in the face.

"_OI! What the heck man!?_" shouted Sage as Chespin hopped around him. It looked like he was taunting Sage.

_"What!? You burned me! Gotta at least pay you back."_

_"… Okay I accept that."_

"Sage concentrate! You have to fight back!" Willow said while Sage looked back at her.

"Growl!" Shuana's Chespin growled at Sage, which made him glare at Chespin, and cringe at the same time.

"_Why sister? Why you do this? Growling at a brother like that?"_ Sage barked

_"It's battle man! You get used to it! All in good fun!" _Chespin assured Sage that there was nothing to be upset about.

"Sage! A tackle now!" Willow said as Sage sniffled and did just that, tackling his friend, and the battle ended right there for Sage landed a critical hit. Chespin laid there with swirls in her eyes as Shauna looked in worry. "OH NO! I wasn't done looking at my cute Lil' Chespin!" she declared as she picked up the little guy. Willow felt bad, but at the same time a battle was a battle. You won if you knew what you were doing or by luck. Heck, it was even a combo of the two.

"Nice job Sage." Willow commented as Sage went right over to her. "Shauna… Good work! I'm sure you'll get better." Willow said, trying to be a good winner. She forgot how good it felt to win.

"Thanks! Um… Wait a moment Yarrow! I'll heal your little guy for you!" she says with a smile as she used a potion on Sage. Sage was already feeling better, sighing in relief as she held her fainted Chespin. "I liked the way you battled! It seems like you know what he's feeling! It's like magic the way you can communicate with him."

"Oh yeah? Well… I think anyone can tell from that loud voice of his. Kind of hard to miss." Willow says as she looks back down at the semi-pouting pokemon. Probably thinking that he didn't have a loud voice or something like that.

"No way! The way that you do it Yarrow it's like your communicating on a level much higher then I could with my Lil' Chespin!"

"Oh… Don't worry Shauna. I think you and Chespin are very alike, and are communicating well." Willow says with a nervous smile.

"REALLY!? THANKS! Say hi for your mom for me!" And with that Shauna left, prancing like a Deerling with Chespin to the pokemon center.

"WELLP! Better get to mom huh? Ready for route 1 Sage!? It's perilous!" Willow says as she walks down the path with Sage expecting an attack. When reaching to the end Willow crossed her arms.

"Perilous right?" she asked as Sage looked around confused.

"_What kind of route was that!_?" he called as Willow laughed. Sage, figuring that it was a joke yipped back at her insults. "Sorry, sorry! I was just having fun… I guess your not a pranking guy. Won't do it again. Aipom's Honor." Though he sniffed at her in response and grumbled a few things she hoped that he would get over it soon. They made to the house and Sage stopped for a bit to take in the new scenery. He was curious… Slowly he went into the front yard and ran back behind the wall with he saw The Rock, the famous ryhorn in the races. He had never seen a ryhorn before and crept back inside when Willow didn't seem afraid. _"Slowly… Slowly… " _Sage said to himself until finally he was snout to snout with The Rock, until he poked the nose with a nervous paw.

_"HA! I have conquered-"_

_"ACHOOO!"_ The Rock sneezed and roared at the same time, but didn't charge, his eyes slightly opened but Sage was nowhere to be found. In front of The Rock that is, for Sage ran and went into's Willow's purse, tail sticking out.

"Yeah he sneezes loudly." Willow explained as she went inside. Her mother was on the couch, reading a magazine before turning her head over to see Willow.

"Is that… What I think it is?" her mother asked as she went over to look at Willow's bag.

"Okay Mom… I know what we talked about before, but-"

"It's a pokemon! A cutie at that! Oh Wills! Are you finally going to start your pokemon journey? You can handle it?"

"Well I… I think so. I'm still on the fence."

"I'd say that the fence broke because you currently have a pokemon."

"… Okay yeah, then I am going."

"You've finally taken your first step! It won't be like last time!" Her mother insisted as she patted Willow on the head as Sage poked his head out. He looked at the being called…. 'Mom' with interest. This 'Mom' obviously cared for his trainer and he briefly wondered… Would his mother do the same?

"Oh! Is that a letter I see?"

"Uh… Yes it is! It's for you."

"Let me read it! Is it a love letter? Oooooooh. A Professore huh? …. Fancy handwriting." Her mother said as she took the letter and read it with interest.

Sage put this to the list of what 'Mom' does. '_Mom's must love paper. And this… Love. And Handwriting!'_ He thought as he watched her closely.

"Well! I'd say that your ready to go! How fascinating… In Kalos you're chosen to go on an adventure. It's not like other places where we've been too where you have to, and that it's a rite of passage huh? Wait right here!" her mother said as she went upstairs.

_"I like this 'Mom'! When can I have one?"_

"You don't know who your mom is?" Willow asked directly as Sage's eyes went wide.

_"You can understand me!?"_

"I've been talking to you all this time. How did you not know?"

_"I thought you were really good at watching me!" _Sage yipped still surprised. _"So does this mean you can hear everything? What about my thoughts? Can you hear them?" _Sage asks rapidly as he then clamps up and looks into Willow's eyes.

"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh… My ears are itchy?" Willow guesses with a shrug.

_"HOW DID YOU KNOW!?"_ Sage barked like he witnessed the most amazing thing.

"Wait seriously?! I was just guessing!" Willow said as Sage seemed to look at her in a new light. He nuzzled up to her chest and wagged his tail. "_This is great! All the other humans I ever talked to only guess what I want and tell them! Now I have you and you can understand and-"_ Sage went on and on jumping off the lap and running around in circles, excited. "_And I can tell you jokes!" _he continued until Grace came back down.

"Woah! Looks like someone is BURNING energy. Get it? HA! Anyway… These are your clothes for this journey!" she said as she held up the green shirt and light blue jeans. "Here, here! Take them and go out that door!" Willow just stood there though, holding, the clothes with Sage looking happy.

"I… I don't want to. I don't want to leave you."

"Stop it. You'll be fine. You have Sage to take care of you now."

"That's the thing mom! What if it happens again?"

"You can live thinking about the 'what if's. It's been three years, so take a chance and run out there! Like in the ryhorn races that I do take a lap around Kalos! Who knows… We might see each other again while I'm racing." Her mother said as she hugged Willow. They shared a moment in the silence of the house with Sage taking a sit down to look at the 'Mom' in action. He wondered one more time… What would it be like if he ever met his mom. Would he and her have a conversation like this? And why was his trainer sad? He wandered over and hugged Willow's leg like 'Mom' was doing to show that he cared too.

"Call me if you need me…" Willow says as she turns away to pick up Sage. Her mother claps her hands together and kisses her head. "You do the same. And visit!" her mother said as Willow started to open the door. A roar was heard as she did so.

"_Wait! The Rock must say good-bye as well!_" The Rock came over, nuzzling Willow.

"Oh… He's saying good-bye too. He did know you when you were just a baby." Her mom said as she playfully patted her daughter's back.

"_Let's do one last lap around the front yard! The Rock will be pleased to do so like his brothers Boulder and Clay_!" The Rock said as he went back to his blanket.

"Hey Sage… Want a ride?" she asked as he mother closed the door behind her. Sage wasn't sure if he wanted to do such things with a giant rock creature.

_"YES!"_ was the answer though it didn't matter to Willow since if it was no she would put him down. She sat down on him and felt The Rock rise up and begin to walk.

"_The Rock is pleased to give you a lap. But who is small fluff on The Rock's Back_?"

_"I'm Sage! Pokemon of Willow!"_

_"The Rock is Pleased to meet you."_ And with that the lap was done.

_"Good-bye The Willow. The Rock will miss you."_ Sage yipped a good-bye as Willow hopped off the ryhorn and began walking to Aquacorde Town, waving good-bye to the fearless rock pokemon.

_"So… This journey that we're about to go on… What's going to happen?"_

"Usually it works like this... You go to eight gyms, beat said gyms, go to elite four, and then become a champion. Other times though it can differ." Willow says as she goes down the stairs with Sage hopping behind her.

_"Differ?" _he asks as they make they're way through the plaza with fletchlings flying off into the sky.

"Yeah. See these journeys happen because people are trying to find themselves so they'll sometimes stop in the middle and go off doing what they discovered what they wanted to do."

_"So what will we do? What's our goal?"_ asks Sage as they enter a store that sold just potions.

"Goal? Survive… Two please." She asks as Sage cocks his head to the side. Human's were weird, that much he knew. He scurried after her when she got her potions and headed towards the bridge.

_"Why? Are we going to get hurt?" _Sage was full of questions.

"Well… We could. Depends on how you play your cards or… Throw your pokeballs. But as for an ending goal… I guess to see what Sycamore sees in me? I'm not the nicest person around. Nor the most confident."

"_Really? You seem okay?_

_"_I used to be worse_._ At one point I'd insult everyone, and shut everyone out. Still have moments like that._" _Willow explained as she continued to walk across the bridge slowly.

_ "How can you understand me?" _So finally the question was out. How did she understand?

"Ah… So finally the question comes out. Waited for a while huh?" Willow said as she stopped in the middle and looked down at the clear water.

"I was born with it. I don't know why, but I was. Something about my brain and hypersensitivity. I have a theory that I am psychic somewhat, but I don't really know. It's a mystery that I tried to discover, but so far no luck other then it's a gift. I know there's one guy out there called M, I think, that has the same gift, but I don't know where he is. No one does." Willow answered as she continued to look down at the water. Sage jumps up and almost loses his balance, but regains before sitting down next to her.

"Why are you sad?" he asks as he probs her head with his nose gently.

"I uh… No offense Sage but I can't answer anymore. Getting a little personal here." Willow avoids the question as she continues to walk with Sage following her on the railing as they enter into Avance Trail Route 2.

Already this place was small, with a babbling river to the left side with different fish pokemon swimming in it but there was a lot of tall grass for pokemon to hide in. In the distance Willow and Sage would see Shauna and Calem on the other side of the first patches of tall grass. If they looked more they would see their first obstacle. The Santalune Forest, a place dark and most likely filled with a many of wild pokemon.

"Yarrow! Come on over!" Shauna called, waving her arms frantically, and Willow began to walk through the grass before… A PIDGEY APPEARED!

"Aw crap!" Willow took a step back when the pidgey appeared, flapping it's wings at her.

_"CAW! YOU STEPPED ON MY FOOT! CAW!"_ now Willow didn't know WHY it was saying 'Caw', but she wanted this bird to stop yelling at her.

"GEEZ! Sorry!" she said as the bird tried to peak her.

_"OI! Leave her be ya buzzard!"_ Sage yells as he did an ember attack on the bird. The bird became badly burned and turned his attention to Sage.

"_I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE!"_ the bird cawed as it went to tackle Sage, but the little fire fox was to quick for that, and tackled the bird right back, yipping at it.

_"Don't you ever come here again!"_

_"It's my home jackass!"_

_"Your home shouldn't be in the middle of the path where anymon can go into!"_ Sage yells as the bird limps away. He goes over to his trainer to see if she is hurt. _"Ya okay?"_ he asks her as Willow just gets out of the tall grass, and sighs. "Yep… Question though… Anymon?" she says as she goes over to the rest of the crew.

_"Don't humans usually have a word that means a whole group?"_

"Oh so like… AnyBOODY, but a pokemon version of it." Willow says quietly before reaching over to the other two trainers.

"Wow that was something huh? Anyway wanna learn how to catch pokemon with me!? To be a better trainer and all! Calem is going to teach me!"

"Um Shauna, I know it may not seem like it due to what you guys saw, but I am okay when it comes to catching pokemon. You can learn it though." Willow said, trying not to be mean.

"Plwease~? Don't you wanna learn how to catch pokemon to become a better trainer?"

"No, you don't understand. I don't need to le-" Willow pauses as she looks at Shauna's big eyes. She sighs, sits down on the ground with Shauna. It felt like she had no choice in this matter so she listened half-way, her ears picking up at slight differences. Calem explains away and Willow nods, confirming some questions Shauna had. And then Calem did something that she didn't expect, and that was the pokeballs. She was given some free ones, and plenty of them!

"Oh for me? Thanks." Willow says as she stuffs the balls down her purse.

"I think it's amazing that pokemon can fit inside suck little balls!" Shauna said while Willow thought about it.

"Yeah I suppose so, because it seems no matter how big the pokemon is and it get stuffed inside. So what happens to them? I can guess that they are put in stasis, and are dreaming. The only question I have is can they die inside while in these things? And what's more how does a pokedex know what pokemon they're in front of? Is it like… Vision sensory? How does this thing work and why isn't it applied to other objects in our lives?" Willow didn't realize it but Shauna already went somewhere else to catch cute pokemon.

"Uh forgive her. She's excited." Calem explains as Willow sighs.

"Yeah I understand."

"So you used to be a trainer yourself huh?"

"Yeah I am. In Jhoto I used to be a trainer, but I didn't complete the journey…"

"Wow… So this must all be boring right?"

"Oh no! Well… Yeah kind of, but you explained everything well and Trevor showed me a new pokedex to use… There are new things, but I know basics." Willow says with a blush. She felt embarrassed talking about this stuff.

_"Your face is red! What does it mean!? You burned!?"_

"No Sage. I'm fine."

"Um… Talking with your pokemon?"

"… Yeeeeeeeeeeeeees? It's not weird don'tjudgeme." Willow explains quickly her face getting more red.

"Well… We have our hobbies then. Um… I'll leave you talking… Maybe I should do it with my Froakie." Calem says as he goes off into the forest. Willow and Sage stand there for a just a moment.

_"Do you think other pokemon that will join us will like us?"_

"It varies. I had one pokemon who was quite stubborn, but warmed up to me."

_"Ooooooooh! So they won't like it at first."_

"Exactly. But as long as your nice and clear they will warm up to you." Willow says before she was challenged. Battle commenced, and the battle was won!

_"We're just getting better huh?" _Sage asks as he watches the youngster give Willow some money. He wonders why he had done that, and looks to Willow for an explanation as they walk into the forest.

"Oh… It's something that's done as a complimentary for winning. Gotta make money somehow or you won't have food." Willow explains as she pockets the money. "Hmmm…" she hums as the sun glistens in the tree tops, but her concentration is broken the moment she hears Shauna calling her name.

"Huh?" Willow turns back with Sage.

"Let's walk together!"

"Scared of the forest?"

"No! I just think that interesting things might happen if I walk by you!"

"Oh… How nice." Willow comments, about to roll her eyes before perking up her ears to the next statement. "I'll heal your pokemon as we go along!" and that statement rung through her mind like fire making Shauna and Sage look at her strangely. Instantly she grabs Shauna's shoulders "… I love you…" was all Willow said as she turned around and began to walk in the forest.

"Um… Thanks…" Shauna says as she looks down at Sage who looked just as confused.

"Well I love you too!" she yells before skipping through the forest along with Sage, following after Willow.

* * *

**End of Chapter One**

**I hope you've enjoyed the chapter! See you all next time in the Tale of Yarrow! Will Willow get a new pokemon in the next chapter? Probably! And yes this is an improved version of the first chapter if you have read that.**


	2. The Outcast of Santalune

**Chapter 2**

**The Outcast of Santalune**

"Soooo… People lose a lot of things here." Shauna mentioned as she was healing up Sage from the last battle they had with a wild Weedle. Willow nodded in agreement when she picked up another potion.

"You'd think that people would keep better track at their stuff, but they don't. Personally I think they leave this stuff down here on purpose." Willow mentioned as Sage looked up at the Pansages that were swinging in the trees along with their friends. He'd say hello to them at different times.

"Why do you think that is anyway?"

"If you really want to know… I think it's a conspiracy all connected to the badge system. It's very complicated. But I think people get better potions the moment they get a badge and therefore why keep the single potion? Just toss it and let someone else relish in finding it."

"Or they are being nice and it's not that at all. It's just them losing stuff… Should we even keep it? It's not even hidden in the ground yet." Shauna had a point, but Willow wasn't sure if they could even FIND the people who dropped these things. Could have been anybody.

"Well yeah if you want to think boring… But I don't think we can return these things. We didn't even see who dropped them." Willow commented and Shauna decided to leave it at that.

"So… Pokemon are you planning on finding here anyway?" Shauna asked and Willow hadn't really thought about it.

"Not sure yet… Whatever Sage doesn't defeat so easily."

"_Hey!"_

"Little guy trust me, your growing so powerful that you keep making the pokemon pass out in one blow. It's a good thing! It shows that your really strong now!"

_"… This pleases me." _he simply said as Shauna giggled,

"It's like you really know what he's saying."

"It's a gift… What are you looking for?" Willow decided to ask since Shauna asked her first.

"A Pikachu! They're so soft and cuddly! And MMMMMMMM! I just want to hold one so bad and pinch those cheeks!"

"Yeah? Well careful with those cheeks, I hear that's the source of it's electricity… Or was it the tail?" Willow thought for a moment before she saw a flash of green, but… It wasn't the green for a Pansage, nor a Caterpie! It moved to fast, and was bigger! "Did you see that?" Willow whispered as Shauna looked around.

"What? Is it a Pikachu?"

"Are Pikachu's green?"

"No."

"Then No. Sorry."

"It's okay… Why are we whispering?"

"Cause I don't want to scare it off… It could still be around." Willow said as she walked on the soft forest ground as gently as possible. She heard a noise that she hadn't heard before in this forest yet. What could it be? Slowly she went to the source and found something unbelievable. It was green, had yellow on it as well and looked like a dog of some kind. It looked to be running around with a collar on it's neck.

_"WORK! Damn it!"_ the creature said, signaling that it is male, to itself as it looked to be trying to muster power and was only getting a few sparks. So that made Willow conclude that it's an electric type.

"What is that? That's not native to this forest… My pokedex doesn't even know what it is!" Shauna whispered.

"Me either…" Willow said as she heard laughter, but the Shauna she heard pokemon. As both girls looked, they would see some pokemon looking at the green dog thing trying to must up an electric attack. Shauna didn't need to understand completely to know pokemon laughing at another pokemon. A pansear threw a berry at the pokemon causing it to snarl, or in Willow's case curse. It kind of had a potty mouth.

"… I think they're making fun of him." Willow deduced as Shauna covered her mouth.

"That's awful…" Shauna said as Willow made a nod in agreement.

_"… I think he should be part of our group." _Sage concluded as he saw the scene. Willow looked up at the pokemon resting on her head.

"Hmmm…"

"What is it Yarrow?"

"Maybe we can help it." Willow said, deciding to take Sage's advice. Besides it didn't belong here. The way the other pokemon treated their fellow was of an outcast.

"How?" Shauna asks as the black haired girl reaches inside her purse searching for something.

"He obviously belongs to someone… See the collar? Maybe we can get him to a Pokemon center and see if anyone recognizes him."

"Oh yeah! And the Pokemon Center sounds like a great idea. He does look a little hurt." Shauna comments as Willow gets out of the bushes and starts to step towards the pokemon. The green dog growls, threatening her,

_"Don't come any closer! I'm Circuit the electrike! Son of Electra!"_ he growled as he backed away.

"Calm down… Not gonna hurt you."

_"STAY BACK! I'll shock you! Bite you! If… If you don't leave me alone I'll hurt you!"_

"_Oi it's okay! She's going to help you."_

_"Help… Me?" _Circuit asks as he stops looking ready to bolt off as Willow kneels down and reaches into her bag once again. "Look… I got something for you. Hungry?" Willow asks as she takes out her sandwich. He sniffs it and slowly comes closer with Willow taking pieces of the sandwich on the ground. He eventually comes close enough in where she can touch him. While Circuit is close she sees the real damage. The collar on him was digging into his skin, and he shook when he stood.

"What happened to you?" she asked, not sure if she could stomach the sight. Sage's ears were down as he sniffed Circuit causing the electrike to jolt up.

"It's okay… I'm going to help you… You just have to trust me…" Willow says as she reaches in with her hands, and slowly pets his head, removing the berries chunks.

_"I… I…"_ Circuit whines at the touch. How long had it been since a human wan to touch him this gently? He comes in close, relaxing slightly before Willow picks him up. He panics and sparks a bit, but it doesn't hurt. It was just a surprise.

"Come on… I'll get ya home." Willow says as Shauna stared at her in awe. What she thought was a terrifying pokemon at first, calmed with Willow, and seemed to be crying.

"Wow… Just wow!" Shauna says in complete amazement. "And pokemon aren't your thing! PUH! You're a natural…" Shauna says as Willow mumbles a 'thanks' and keeps on going with Shauna with her. She used her potions as much as she could on the wounds, but the collar had to be dealt with by a professional. She hides Circuit under a cloth to keep him warm and from the random shocks.

"Willow!" Calem calls as he comes over and see's the pokemon. "It… It needs help." She explains and Calem asked no more. They had to get Circuit help. While walking a Pansage poked it's head down from the tree tops and saw the wounded pokemon, and kindly gave Calem and Shauna one of it's leaves to help the other pokemon, and motioned it's mouth.

"Thanks little guy." And with that the pansage was off. It knew the humans would take care of it. "So… Looks like not everyone is mean to you huh?" Willow commented as Circuit lifted his head slightly as if to response, but closed his eyes. Eventually the whole gang was there, wondering about the pokemon in Willow's arms while Shauna recollected the story she saw. And Willow didn't mind… Not once, because she felt good. She felt good that she was making a difference for this pokemon.

"So we're here at the end of the forest. Time to take our first step out here! For all of us. Onward to Santalune City!" Calem says as all at the same time they stepped out of the forest and into the path to the next town. "I'm off guys! I have to get to the Pokemon Center!" Willow says as the others follow her while she ran.

Like lightening she made it the Pokemon Center and had Nurse Joy take a good look at Circuit. Immediately she took Circuit, the pokemon looked scared for a moment as he was taken into emergency care. "Alright… Will he make it?"

"Only time will tell…" The assistant of Nurse Joy said, whose name was oddly enough Nurse Charity, and Sage wagged his tail. They did something good for that pokemon.

"Strange an Electrike was here of all places. They're usually in the coastal region of Kalos." Nurse Charity commented, "And so young… Looks for have been a baby. Nothing more then a child… I'd say that you've found an abandoned pokemon out there."

"So what will happen to it?"

"If no one claims it… It'll be put down."

"What?!"

"Yes… See pokemon population needs to be controlled, if no one claims him, he'll be put down because there isn't enough room to house all the abandoned pokemon in the world. And they usually aren't welcomed back in the wild unless they're strong enough to get respect." Nurse Charity explained as Willow had a choice here. She either let's the system do it's thing, or she claims the pokemon as her own.

While explaining this to the friends that decided to stick around, which was all of them Teirno spoke up first. "I think you should keep him."

"Yeah Yarrow! Keep him! You found him, and I think he'll like you more then any other person in the system." Shauna added while Trevor crossed his arms and thought about it.

"I think that might be the better choice as well Yarrow… The Electrike given to how Shauna said how it acted before might not last long… It's going to be a lot of paper work though. I hear that getting abandoned pokemon here in Kalos you need to sign a lot of papers." Willow crossed her legs while sitting at the Center. "What do you think Calem?"

"The choice is yours really. I'd say go for it. If he survives that is." Calem nods as Willow as the black haired girl thought about it. "Okay… I'm keeping him." Willow says with a nod and Shauna does a 'yes'.

"Well… If you don't find me rude Yarrow, I'm going to be on my way. Gotta get some pokemon for my dance team!" Teirno says as he clenches his fists and does a pump.

"Me as well. Gotta fill that pokedex, but we'll check in on you guys later." Trevor adds as he gets up.

"And I am going to get that Pikachu! So back to the forest I go!" Shauna says with a smile.

"And I'm going to challenge the gym. You staying here?"

"Yeah I might as well. Or I explore the town a little bit and come back." Willow replied to Calem as he nods. And with that they left Willow in the Pokemon Center with Sage. The Fenniken sat down next to her and placed his head on her lap. She patted his head and waited.

After a while Willow woke up, not realizing that she had fallen asleep. She briefly wonders if what she had gone through was a dream, but she knows from the pressure on her lap it could not be so. Sage was still there and she was still in the pokemon center. She got up and yawned Sage lifting his little head up and yawning as well.

"Let's see if he's awake now, hmm?" Willow suggests as she gets up and walks over to the desk. "Hey there Nurse Charity? Is Circuit okay now?"

"Well he's still inside and in care. Why don't you go and get a coffee."

"Sure. Okay… Let's go Sage." And the moment both her and Sage stepped outside she realized how it was late in the afternoon. "Wow… We are not sleeping tonight." Willow says as she tried to find a café of some kind. "Hmmm… Where to go… See anything Sage?" And when Sage was about to reply he felt something whiz right by him causing him to jump up into Willow's arms.

"What in the world? What was… Was that someone on rollerblades?"

_"I don't even know what those are!"_

"… Oh yeah. Well let's check it out!" Willow ran to where the rollerblader went and found a girl standing in front of a gym. "Huh… I guess we found ourselves the gym… Hey!"

"Hey yourself! You thinking about challenging the gym?"

"Not really, I was just wondering where you got those rollerblades."

"Skates. Roller-skates."

"Aren't… They the same thing?"

"Not really. They differ with the wheels and shape, and safety."

"Oh… Well, where did you get them?"

"Wait… Are you saying that you DON'T have roller-skates?

"Yeah I don't, hence why I am asking."

"Well… If you beat me in a pokemon battle, I'll give you a spare."

"… My friend you just lost your rollerblades."

"Roller-skates."

"Right. Roller-skates." Willow said as she looked down at Sage and had him go first since she didn't have any other pokemon at the moment.

"HA! It stands no chance!" she yells as she sends out a zigzagoon.

_"WATAAAAAAAAAAA!" _the zigzagoon did a battle cry the moment it came out, and it looked ready for action.

"Okay you… Sage we're getting those rollerbbll… Skates! Ember!" Willow couldn't believe that she was growing to like battling again. Sage did an Ember attack and it was a surprise to see the pokemon still standing.

"HA! I got something better! Tackle!" With a burst of speed the zigzagoon tackled Sage right into the ground. The two pokemon skidded for a bit until they finally broke apart. Sage wiped his feet on the ground the moment he got up.

"Sorry but that's nothing Sage can't handle. Go on and give the zigzagoon another ember!" Willow ordered as Sage prepared to give another ember.

"TACKLE HIM ZIGZAGOON! Throw his aim off!" the zigzagoon ran at full speed, knocking right into Sage before he let out an ember, but it missed!

"Do it again!"

"Don't let that zigzagoon get the best of you Sage! Tackle him back!" Willow orders as Zigzagoon and Sage's head's collide for a moment. "EMBER!" and that was the final attack. The moment Sage came close and did his ember attack zigzagoon fainted, rolling across the ground.

"HA! I won! Pay up!... Please. Sorry I uh… Got carried away."

"No harm done. Heck I think you might be even stronmger then the gym leader in this city! Here you can have some money and the roller-skates."

"Oh no! I don't need the money…"

"It's trainer law. We have to do this." The girl said as Willow accepted both gifts.

"Thanks."

"Your welcome. Now keep those roller-skates safe! Later!" And then the girl skated off. Willow looked down at her gift and smiled.

"I got rollerblades."

_"Roller-Skates."_ Sage corrected as Willow sighed in content.

"Yeahhh…" she said with a smile as she took off her shoes and started to put them.

"Always wanted these when I was kid, but I was too afraid to use them before."

_"Why was that?"_

"Mostly because I was afraid." Willow said as she tried them on. She wobbled at first, frightening Sage a bit by getting out of the way. _"Not sure if your supposes to do that."_

"It's a first time! Hold on… I'll get used to this… I swear this is fun!" Willow says as she goes off with her roller-skates with Sage following her every fall of the way.

"I think I need a helmet."

"_Don't know what that is, but I think so too. Your head can't take anymore falls. You might forget how to talk to me."_

"We'll be fine… I promise!" Willow says as they kept on going onto the path to the right of the gym, just practicing until a couple of hours later.

"I THINK I'M DOING IT!"

_"GREAT! We should probably meet Circuit now!"_

_"… _OH YEAH!" With skill she slowly went over to Sage picked him up and then sped off to the Pokemon Center.

"Nurse Joy!" Willow calls as she enters the Center with Sage in her hands.

"How is Circuit?"

"Fine actually. I found a poke'ball for him to stay for now. And since Nurse Charity says that you want to keep him, you need to sign a few papers." Nurse Joy explains, and Williow nods.

"By the way… Are you okay? You look hurt."

"Huh? Oh it's fine! Just practicing without a helmet!" Willow laughs as she gets the papers. And Trevor was right there is paper that you have to sign, but somehow she signed it all, and it was all worth it. Nurse Joy took the papers, and gave her a Great Ball that held Circuit within.

"Now he's still healing. The injuries weren't as bad as they looked, but he'll be fine. In fact when he woke up and was full of spunk."

"Thanks Nurse Joy." Willow says with a nod as she walks out with a new friend in hand.

"Circuit…" Willow smiles down at the Great Ball and releases the pokemon out, and Circuit looks around, carefully, alert to every sound.

"Hey there. How are you doing?"

"..." He didn't respond but looked down. He felt no pain of the collar anymore, but why was he out? He felt his neck, and found the scar. Forever reminding him what had happened, but the bondage was gone. He looked at her pokeball as if expecting something.

"What's wrong?" Willow asks as she kneels down next to him with Sage by her side.

_"Oi you okay man? Or are you just pyched that you're going to be with us now?"_

_"Be with you?"_

_"Yeah! It'll be awesome! We'll grow stronger! And… Do stuff… Not sure what all the stuff will be, but it has to do with survival, and maybe finding our true path!"_

_"Survival? You mean you guys aren't leaving me here?"_

"Why would I leave you here? If I didn't want the best for you, you'd still be in that forest." Willow explains while Circuit's eyes go wide.

"_Sh-sh-hsshshshshshe understood me."_

_"Yeah! And that's the best part of our trainer! Willow can talk to people and pokemon! She can even read minds."_

"N-no I can't read minds. Never could." She said, as Circuit seemed to be concentrating on something.

_"She so is!"_

_"Okay… If you can invade minds…"_

"Can't invade them."

_"Then what is my goal?"_

"I don't know… Maybe… Learning an electric type move to prove yourself to someone?" Willow said as she thought back to the scene that she saw in the forest. Circuit's eyes went wide and Sage covered his mouth doing the 'Oooooooooooooo' noise.

"_You have proved to me that your mind is great. It's true I wish to get stronger. For her!"_

"No that was another guess based on what I saw before. Who's her?" Willow asks as Sage declares that she is an 'Invader of Dreams' silently next to her.

Circuit blushed, his fur bristling when she asked. _"Nothing! Just… Someone that means a lot to me..."_

_"Ooooooooooh! I wanna know who it is."_

_"Shut up Sage! I'm not telling you!"_

So far it seemed like Circuit and Sage liked each other and were getting along. It was a good sign to see how well Circuit was able to adapt to her and Sage since she was worried about that. "Well… Playing aside I can assure you that you will become stronger with me. That is what trainers are supposed to do! The places we'll go are sure to get us stronger!" she declared as she had two Pokémon follow her to the exit of the city. It felt great to feel positive! She should do this all the time! Why did she stop in the first place?

"Hold up there!" said a voice just when she was about to leave the city.

"Before you go… Why don't you challenge the gym here? I assure you that it will be worth your while." Life kind of froze for her at that moment. The moment she heard the word 'gym' Willow saw the face of her first pokemon getting crushed, blood everywhere as it begged to be put back in the pokeball only for it to be too late.

"Gym?"

**To Be Continued**

**Well I hope everyone enjoyed this fun little chapter. I certainly had fun while making it. So right now your probably wondering 'where the heck do I find an electrike in Sanatlune Forest?' you don't. I was just traded one early on a Wonder Trade in that area, and I thought instead of just making a magical trade happen I would make more dramatic by having an abandoned electrike in there instead. Insert Circuit! What do you think of the little guy? And it seems that this journey is having a positive impact on our character Willow. What do you think will happen next? Please review, and give me your best, honest opinion to help me grow.**


	3. The Good, The Challenge, The Buster

Chapter 3

**The Good, The Challenge, The Buster**

_"Willow?"_ said a familiar voice that snapped Willow out of her thoughts. She looked over to Sage and Circuit. They both looked at her in concern before she raised a hand and did a motion to let them know that she was fine.

"So… You want me to try out the gym?" Willow asked as she did her best to stay calm as the woman nodded her head.

"Yes! It'll be worth your while to challenge her."

"Why is that?"

"A couple of things actually… To show that your strong, it's a good experience for your Pokémon and you to bound, to get better items-"

"Wait, wait, wait… Are you telling me… That if I… Beat the gym leader… I can get better stuff?"

"Well… Yes. And it helps out with pokemon that might have been traded over."

"I KNEW IT!"

"What?"

"I KNEW THAT I WAS RIGHT! The shops only sell the good stuff to people with badges! It's not a 'We just ran out of stock deal!' UGH!" Willow concentrated on that instead of the memories that were trying to invade her mind. The woman stood there a little confused.

"Well… So are you going to try the gym?" she asked hoping that the girl would try it. There was a pause however as Willow thought about it. Meanwhile a boy went passed and showed his gym badge out of triumph to the woman, and Sage looked at it closely. It was shiny and he looked like he had a great time getting it! Maybe they should! The boy left and Willow was about to say something to the young woman about the kid being able to pass until Sage wanted to talk.

_"We should do it!"_ he yips to Circuit and his trainer. "_I bet it will be fun! Plus that girl said while she was in front of that big building that we are probably stronger then the gym leader anyway! Come on!"_ Sage said excitedly while Willow wasn't so sure. Yes Gym badges sounded like it could be helpful and it was a basis for these journeys to do some. Sage rubbed against her legs, wanting her to simply do one thing and one thing only. Try out the gym. There seemed to be a silent conversation between the trainer and Pokémon going back and forth until finally Willow closed her eyes, her shoulders slumping.

"Fine… We'll go to the gym." Sage jumped up and down in excitement except for Circuit. The scarred up electrike didn't seem to care for such things. It was whatever Willow said he would do.

"Great! Give my sister a good time okay!" Willow waved of saying a little 'see you later' to the woman before walking to the gym, but then paused. She looked at the building next to the gym.

"A Pokémon school?" she asked while Sage whined about wanting to go to the gym right away. "Stop your whining Sage. I just want to check this place out." Willow calms down the tiny fox as it pouts. She walks right in, and sees that she wasn't disturbing anything. "Okay… I wonder what the little tykes are learning now."

"Miss can I help you?" asks an old man while the kids were doing their own thing, discussing the lesson and such.

"Oh! Sorry that I came in I was just wondering about a few things in here."

"Oh? Are you a new trainer in their journey." The teacher said amused as he held a little twinkle in his eye as he looked down at the pokemon beside Willow's feet. Though he frowned at Circuit, most likely due to the Pokémon's physical state.

"I see that you ran into a few battles that went wrong."

"Huh? Oh no! I found him like this and I'm just getting acquainted with him." Willow said, not wanting the guy to get the wrong idea. She should cover up that scar if at all possible. She knew that people might get the wrong idea, but for some reason didn't act upon it. She didn't understand it herself, but she felt like it was not right in a way. Like… Those were Circuit's own badges and it he wants to hide them, then he could though perhaps she should offer him? She looked down at Circuit as the electrike tilted his head at her, wondering what she wanted.

"You found him like that? He looks like he should still be in recovery." The teacher commented as Willow noticed a few students looking at her and Circuit. It suddenly dawned on the electric Pokémon that he was being looked at, and he didn't like it. So he went behind Willow and nudged her, silently asking to be put back into the Great Ball, but Willow didn't want to seem suspicious.

"Yeah, but I'm not putting him in any battles. We're just walking." Willow said as Circuit seemed to be trying harder to hide from the students eyes.

"As long as you're sure." The teacher said as he crossed his arms. He didn't believe her, but what could he do?

"Is that the electrike from Santalune Forest?" asked one of the students with brown hair, and glasses.

"Yes he is… How do you know?" she asked as Circuit looked at the boy while behind Willow, very closely.

"… No reason. Just wondering if you KNOW anything about electrikes." He simply said as he went back to his book. Now Willow knew he was just a kid, but the way he said it… Made her feel annoyed.

"Well… Not really." Willow said honestly as she looked down at Circuit. Sage was sitting quietly next to Willow as well, trying to understand what was going on. Willow decided that she might as well go outside and challenge the gym.

"Figures." It was muttered under his breath, but Willow heard it. She didn't go to see if the teacher had anything to say about it. Willow paused for a moment, opened the door and left. Oh she wanted to DO something to that kid. The heck did he know!?

_"Are you okay Willow?"_ Sage asked as he followed after her. She paused for a moment, fury was burning up inside of her.

"I'm fine. Just… VERY annoyed."

_"Well… Just so you know… I think your great!"_ Sage yipped happily as Circuit stayed silent behind her. He was looking down and accidently bumped into Willow's leg when she stopped in front of the gym. "Hey… Just wondering guys… Should we even go into this place yet? Maybe we should train… Or at least grab another Pokémon that can help you Sage."

_"Why do I need more help? Can't Circuit help me?"_

"No Sage. Circuit can't fight with you in the gym. We need a another able body because if I remember correctly... We also fight other trainers in the gym. Usually it's their students… I think. They're there to tire you out. It like another part of the test in beating them." Willow said not noticing Circuits stiffness all of a sudden. Was he… A burden? He stayed quite though, not wanting to say a word as he followed Willow.

_"That sounds really cheap!"_

"Well they're reasoning behind it is like this… If your so ready to fight in the big leagues then a few trainers before the big guys should be no problem for you. Gotta learn to take it in stride." Willow responded and noted at how lax Circuit was acting as he traveled behind her.

"Want to come into the ball and rest there?"

_"Huh?"_

"I said, are you tired? I can put you in the ball and that way you can rest some more. You're going to need it." Willow said as he looked behind to look at Circuit.

_"Uh… No. I'm fine."_ He said as he began to walk ahead as Sage followed, bouncing all the while before jumping up on Willow's shoulders. They searched a bit for a Pokémon that could help them. Anything really. While searching Circuit couldn't help but… Look at himself while close to the water. He really didn't look that great. His eye was scarred; some of his fur was tattered though slowly growing back. The wound on his neck, the one bandaged was the one that hurt most of all. He patted his neck, wincing a bit at the pain.

_"Hm…"_ he thought to himself as he looked miserable. '_Am I… Useless?'_ Sage thought before looking up at Willow, who was searching in the grass for something. _'Do I belong? Was I too quick in joining her and telling her my secret? She felt different… She saved me, but… What use am I? What use is a Pokémon if they can't help their trainers get stronger? Will I put away somewhere where no one will ever see me again?'_ he had heard stories of Pokémon just getting caught for the sake of being caught. The trainer never cared about them. They just caught them because wasn't that the goal? To just get stronger? Circuit might have been born a couple of months ago, but he wasn't stupid. What if he ran out of usefulness and was put in The Box. He had never been in The Box, but he heard different things about it and it scared him. It scared him so much. What she found a better electric type that did better attacks? He sparked up his fur only getting a couple of small sparks. _"Still nothing…"_ he muttered to himself.

_"What was that Circuit? You say something?"_ Sage asked as his ears perked up at the noise Circuit made which caused Willow to turn around to look at the electric type.

_"OH! Just… Doing an electric attack! You know since… My fur is really sensitive and I can do REALLY strong electric attacks."_ Circuit said, trying to cover it up.

"_Isn't it one of your goals to learn an electric type move?" _Sage asked excited for his friend.

_"Y-yeah! It's uh… Supposed to be something that comes naturally."_

_"What attacks could you do?"_

_"Spark."_

_"Can I see?"_

_"Uh… I don't know it yet!"_ Circuit said with fake confidence. Sage looked at him in wonder_. "Wow… I bet in a battle your electric attacks can shock anything!"_ Sage said while wagging his tail, though Circuit was smiling on the inside he was panicking. Willow stared at the conversation between the two and crossed her arms.

"Hmmm… Well I'm glad that you're trying to do your attacks but I want you to rest. Don't tire yourself." She said as she looked around with Sage coming back to her. Circuit sighed in relief when no one questions about what electric attacks he could do. He then heard a splash and turned his head in time to feel water on his face.

_"What!?" _he snarled and wiped off his face while he looked to see who had splashed him. His eyes landed upon an orange otter of some sort with a yellow collar looking thing on his neck. It looked more like a floatation device though.

_"I'm sorry! I didn't mean it man!"_ said the otter as he went underwater and hid there. There was an awkward silence between the two Pokémon before Willow and Sage came over to stare as well. Willow gave him a look that asked, 'what was happening' before the Pokémon came right back up, blinking a few times before hiding again. It seemed shy.

"Hey! Don't worry! Come on out…" Willow beckoned as she stayed still. She was waiting for the Pokémon to come out on it's own. Again this was a Pokémon she had never seen before. So far most of the Pokémon here she had never seen before. It was interesting how her Pokedex only knew of some kinds but not others. The Pokémon peeked out of the water, the top of its head out along with it's eyes. It blinked at her.

"Hey there… You're an interesting little guy. What's your name?" Willow said as Circuit and Sage looked down at him cautiously and with a hint of curiosity.

"_B-Buizel_…"

"I'm sorry I didn't catch that. What was your name?"

_"__Buizel…"_the Pokémon said again as he hide his face a little more and bubbles came out.

"Sorry I can't understand you… You're a bit quiet and I am a little hard of hearing."

_"He said his name is Buizel." _ Sage said as he wiggled his big fluffy ears.

"Buizel?" Willow asked as Buizel hid underwater again. "He… Certainly likes to hide." She mentioned before she heard a snapping of a twig. Circuit immediately went into action, tensing up at the sound and growling. He needed to show that he was useful somehow. Willow picked herself up from the water bank and looked behind her to see someone she didn't expect.

The kid that Willow met in the school was called Markus or Mark had gone down the same path as her. He was studying the Pokémon on the route for a project. Mark was just minding his own business before he saw Willow talking with her Pokémon with her. Needless to say he didn't like her too much. Mostly because he felt that she was ignorant with the Pokémon she had with her, and just in general being a trainer. He couldn't stand trainers that just went ahead in their journey and didn't bother learning about the land they were in or about battle strategy. It just irked him to no end that while he studied his butt off people like HER go on. "That's… Interesting…" he commented as he began to take notes on the conversation. Though she didn't seem to have schooling she seemed to be in sync with the Pokémon in some level he didn't quite understand. She seemed to be near the river, but he couldn't heart her properly so he came closer, accidently stepping on a twig. Instantly the Electrike turned and growled at him, looking quite menacing. Sage turned around, not making a growl but he looked curious as Willow slowly rose up from kneeling. As she faced him he felt a tightening feeling on his chest. He wasn't sure if it was because he was humiliated in that he was caught or that he was angry or both.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, skeptical of what his reasons were. Mark scoffed and adjusted his glasses.

"Isn't it obvious? I am doing research." He said as he waved his notepad. Willow eyed it and shrugged.

"Well alright. Good for you." Willow responded a bit dryly as she turned back around. He felt a bit insulted from the way Willow said it. He wasn't sure if it was just him, but he HATED it when people said, 'Good for you' since for him it was a nicer way of saying 'I don't really care so screw off'.

"Wait! What were you doing right now?" Mark asked as he felt something building in his chest. Willow looked back at Mark, a little annoyed, but she responded anyway.

"Looking for Pokémon so that I can challenge the gym."

"Really?" it was a surprise to Mark, but a pleasant one. Maybe she did her research to look for a better Pokémon for the gym she was about to challenge and knew that she needed more then one type advantage because of the Gym Leaders Pokémon and students, mostly the gym leaders though. "What Pokémon have you found so far?" he asked with his arms crossed.

"None."

"None?" he asked as he scratched his head with his pencil.

"Well… I'm in the middle of recruiting. So hush." Willow said as she turned back around to look for the Buizel. She had a good feeling about the Pokémon. Mark stood there dumbfounded. This trainer said that she was in the middle of recruiting, yes, but what was he doing squatting down. "Come back… I know you're scared, but I'm not a scary person." She said and she wasn't even using her Pokémon! That's not how you catch Pokémon! Even he knew that!

"What are you doing?" he asked as he crossed his arms and Willow let out a sigh. "I'm just doing my own thing here. Don't mind me."

"Don't mind you!? Easier said then done! How can I not mind such… Are you REALLY trying to a catch a Pokémon!? That's not how you do it! Are you even fit to be a trainer?"

"Kid I have experience. Don't worry about me." Willow replied and Markus couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't take how easy going Willow was acting in doing her own thing. She wasn't following anything he had heard of! When catching a Pokémon you battled them. You didn't call out for them because that makes them run away. You caught them regardless, using whatever you had available. Cutting off their escape. He could already see the many errors in Willow's catching methods and it was driving him insane.

"My name is Markus…"

"I'm Willow Yarrow."

"Yarrow… Willow Yarrow… Willow Yarrow!"

"That's my name."

"I challenge you!"

"What's this now?"

"I challenge! Are you deaf!?"

"No I'm just wondering if I heard you correctly. You say you want to battle me? On what grounds?" Willow asked as she looked back at Mark.

"On the grounds of you being a terrible trainer!" Mark yelled as Willow took a pause, not responding. The way she looked at him. He couldn't identify it. It was like she was calculating him and his words.

"On being a terrible trainer? What… Makes you think that?" she asked very lax like.

"You never went to Pokémon School… You don't follow the training or adventure guide; your electrike looks awful. I bet he doesn't even know how to do an electric attack!" Mark shouted as Willow continued to look at him while her Pokémon, especially Circuit began to growl at him for insulting their trainer. Especially Circuit given that Mark just said that he had no idea how to do an electric attack.

"Just because I never went to Trainer School doesn't mean I don't know what I am doing. And please leave my Pokémon out of it. Your insulting Circuit."

"Wrong! You have no idea! Heck! What Pokémon are you trying to catch to help you defeat the Gym Leader!?"

"A Buizel."

"A… Buizel… A water type…" he said as he held his head. She had no idea what the Pokémon Gym was well known for. "You have no idea…"

"I have no idea?"

"That she uses bug type!"

"Oh? Is that all?" Willow said as Mark began to have a mental break down. She was so calm… Why was she so calm! She should see her fault in the Pokémon she was trying to catch!

"Hey… You don't look so good." Willow commented as Mark threw out a Pokeball and released a litleo. A brown cat looking Pokémon with a little red on the top of its head, with huge eyes, he called the little cub Iggy, short for Ignatious, and it reminded him of the word 'Ignite' like you would a fire.

"So you want to do this then… Alright then, I'll use Sage for this one." Sage let out a yip as he jumped forward. This made Mark smile when he saw the Fenniken come out to battle with his Litleo. He knew that he had a chance given that he knew the typing of Fenniken, and despite it being the same as Iggy he figured that the little lion had more physical strength then the fox. Willow didn't look too concerned though.

"Whatever you want." Mark said as the black haired girl nodded.

"Tackle!" Willow said to Sage as she started the battle off right away. Sage proved to be very fast compared to Iggy and the little lion took the hit. It surprised Mark but he didn't let it get him down. "Iggy! Use Work Up!" he ordered as Iggy made a noise and began to work up, increasing his attack and special attack.

"Tail Whip Sage! Then follow up with ember!" Willow ordered and Mark thought about the move. It would lower his Pokémon's defense and it worked. The ember though did little damage to the Litleo, and Willow didn't seem to notice. At least for Mark she didn't.

"Two can play at that game! Leer! Then tackle her Fenniken! Show her whose more superior!" he ordered as Iggy leered at the Pokémon and went up to tackle the little fox. Sage took the hit and fell back a little beat up, but still standing.

"Are you okay?" Willow asked as her Pokémon yipped in response. Mark smiled as he crossed his arms.

"Let's make a wager…"

"But wagers is usually set on money you get afterwards. Bit late for anything more then that don't you think?"

"I still wager!"

"Alright…" Willow said as Sage glowered as Mark and his Pokémon Iggy.

"I wager… That if you lose, I get your Electrike… If you win I'll give you something just as valuable."

"I don't want a Pokémon nor anything else if that is what you're asking and I am not wagering Circuit. I don't even know why you want him. He's my Pokémon and I would never give him up on a stupid bet." These words were filled with the most emotion Mark had heard her say. She was serious.

"And Mark… Pay attention to what I am about to share with you." Willow said as she ordered Sage to do a tackle. Sage was so angry at the wager on Circuit that he went with all his might to tackle Iggy. The Pokémon tried to take the hit, but the fox hit it in a very soft spot. Iggy rolled on the floor, panting as he looked at the fox.

"Never… Fool around with your Pokémon's life. Ever or anyone else's for that matter. Pokémon aren't stupid. They KNOW what your saying." Willow said as Mark felt himself shudder. She sounded so menacing, and her Fenniken growled right at Iggy and Mark. The boy took a step back and fell on his butt.

"Well? Aren't you going to send your Pokémon an order?"

"I uh… Uh…"

"You need to be decisive. Sage Tackle him again!"

"Tackle back Iggy!" Mark snapped back to attention as Sage went into for probably the final blow. Him and Litleo butted heads right then and there are were dizzy for a moment. They both fell over, rubbing their heads for a bit before Sage got up. Being the winner. Mark felt… Humiliated. He didn't know what happened! He thought he was winning and it suddenly changed! Willow walked up to Mark and lended him a hand, she didn't say a word, and Mark wasn't sure if that was even more embarrassing or if she was doing it out of his own sake. He didn't accept the hand right away, but did when Willow didn't move.

"Mark right?"

"Yeah…"

"You should start your journey soon. And learn how to relax."

"Huh?"

"I said you should start your journey soon. Get out of school, and start being with your Pokemon. You did good out there though you hesitated at the end. Also you're a bit high-strung and I know for a fact that it isn't good for you." Willow mentioned to be helpful, though Mark was fuming at the comment.

"You… But… I lost, and you won. How can I be ready if I can't win? I don't even have the money to give you as conciliation."

"I did, and it's fine… You can just give me a potion or whatever. Whatever helps me… Anyway it's not about winning Mark, the journey is more then that. It's surviving. And school can't teach you everything."

"Oh… Well I have this. Think you can use it?" Mark offered his a netball, wondering what she meant about it all being about survival.

"That'll work… Thanks. See you around." Willow said as she took the ball and left Mark to think about a few things. _'School won't teach me everything?'_ Mark thought as he picked up Iggy who regained consciousness. "No worries boy… We'll beat her next time." Mark said as he went off with his Pokémon to heal him up and to leave Willow to her own devices.

When the battle was over Willow sighed and helped Sage heal up with a potion. "You did good out there. Though it surprised me that the ember attack hardly did anything to that litleo, until he pretty much told us that he was a fire type." Willow said to Sage as the little fox scratched his big ears.

"_Yeah… I thought he was normal. Guess not."_

_"That was… Amazing!"_ said a new voice, and both Pokémon and trainer turned to it's source. It was the Buizel! Was he watching the whole time?

"Hey there Buster! We're you watching?" Willow said as the Buizel blushed and hide from view.

_"A little…"_

_"Did you like it!? Wasn't it cool where that kid was all like… I want Circuit and then I was like… NOOOOOOOOO! And then I tackled that prideful lout! BAM!"_ Sage described, and Willow took notice that he was starting to like battles more and more.

_"Hey um… Thank you. For not betting on me and for what you said."_ Circuit replied as Willow shrugged. "What else was I supposed to do? Agree to it? I'm not going to treat your life like an objects."

"_Yeah!... Wait… YOU CAN TALK TO US!?"_

"Oh yeah… You don't know yet."

"_She's a mind invader!"_

"Sage stop it. I don't invade minds."

_"She can invade minds?!"_

"I just said— what are you doing?" Willow asked as the Buizel seemed to be thinking of something very hard.

"… Look I don't invade minds so you don't have to concentrate on blocking your thoughts or whatever."

_"She knew!"_

"No it was obvious."

_"Then what is my name! Not blocking thoughts this time…"_

_"_… Buizel?" Willow remembered that he gave them his name last time they spoke. This caused a gasp from all the Pokémon. _"HA! Not a psychic! You have proven yourself three times!"_ Sage exclaimed as Buizel fainted in the River. When that happened Willow grabbed him instantly and pulled him as to not get washed away.

"But anyone can figure it… Never mind. Are you okay?" Willow asked the small Buizel in her hands before he woke up.

"_Take me with you!"_

"Well… That was out of the blue. Why?" Willow wasn't going to complain, but she wanted to know why this quiet, slightly dramatic shy Pokémon wanted with her. Usually wild types ran away from the thought of being with a human.

_"Well… You see… I'm not like other Buizels…"_ Buizel said as he got out of Willow's arms and walked a bit in a circle.

"_I… I ran away from home."_

"What?" Willow asked as Sage was just as shocked, except for Circuit. He could understand running away.

"_Yeah I know! It's dumb… But I couldn't take it anymore… I just wasn't good enough or strong enough. I was always considered a Hiccup of sorts… In fact that's what my nickname was. I was a runt of the litter, and considered a weakling._" Buizel said as he sat down with a sigh. Willow tilted her head at this since she had never heard of a Pokémon family in the wild. The ones she had before didn't talk about it much.

_"So I went down river, and ended up here… I thought that if I couldn't impress them or show them that I'm more then a hiccup… It wasn't like I thought about leaving forever! Just until I got strong enough!"_ Buizel said as he raised his paws and shook them in defense. Circuit raised his own paw.

_"It's alright. We're not judging you for what happened… So… If I get this straight… You want to come because you think that Willow can help you." _Circuit concluded as he thought about it. Buizel blushed as he looked away from Willow and twirled his tails_._

_"Well… I thought about getting a trainer for a while."_

_"What makes you want to come out now? And why Willow?" _Sage asked as he pointed to his trainer.

_"Well… I thought… When I watched you guys fight and how she defended her Pokémon… Other didn't seem right for me, but she seemed like… We just clicked! I felt like we needed to be together, but… I got scared and hid… Am I being too weird?"_ He asked with sad eyes and Willow shook her head.

"No… You're not being weird. And I know what you're talking about… The connect thing. They're called Friend Crushes actually."

_"Friend Crushes?" _Buizel asked as he looked up at Willow with big eyes.

"Yeah… Pretty much you have an urge to be someone's friend… That or its fate." Willow said as she got up from the ground and brushed off her legs. Buizel looked at her with curiosity as she held up the netball she had just received. "So you want to come with me to get stronger." Buizel nodded as he stood there, waiting for the answer.

"You know it's going to be tough. It's not a cake walk, and you could be seriously injured."

"_I understand! But I want to do it! I have too! I… I want to be somemon that can be trusted. Especially in my family."_

Willow paused as she held the netball and smiled down at Buizel. "You're going to need a new name then."

"_You mean… I can come?"_ he asked and Willow nodded. Buizel jumped into the air with great joy. "_YOU… Won't regret it! Oh boy… Oh boy… How does it work!? The name! Do I choose it? Is it a group choice?! What do I do?"_

"Uh… I can give you the name if you want. But you can also decide?"

_"Oh! Oh…. Um… I'll be… That name you called me when we first saw one another!"_

"…. Buster?"

_"Yeah! That one!" _ he said excitedly as he clapped his paws together. _"It sounds so tough and rapscallion! I love it!"_ while Buizel was fanning over his name the others looked at one another. Though he didn't seem like a Buster to them he wanted it, and Willow didn't want to break that happiness.

_"Buster it is." _Sage proclaimed as Buizel squealed with joy and ran around before pausing. _"N-now what!?"_

"First calm down… I just have to catch you."

"_That's it?" _Buster asked before wagging his tails again.

"Yep… Just hold still." She said as she threw the ball at Buster and he went right in. Already in his own pokeball, wiggling once, twice, third times the charm and he was in. So far all the Pokémon on her team had their own balls so that she knew who was who. "Okay guys… It's getting late… Let's just train and then heal up before heading to the gym." Willow said and with that she and fought other trainers on the road and went back to heal. While training she found that Buster had an attack called Sonic Boom. It seemed like a pretty good move and Buster was proud of it. Circuit stayed in a corner, but he due to complaining came into the training as well though his was light due to injuries from before. Out of the group they all had their obvious weakness and strengths. Sage was fast and had a powerful fire attack, Buster was also quick but was a good physical hitter, while Circuit reminded to be seen since his condition wasn't giving Willow the right judgment of what he needed to work on. Though she had an idea it had something to do with his electricity. He was always antsy when it came to his electric attacks, especially when Sage or Buster asked him about it. He would brush it off with a confident smile, wearing a pride that was believable in some parts.

"Hey Sage… Can you and Buster come inside your pokeballs or a moment?"

_"Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww! No! I don't like it in there!_" he said as he turned away while Buster just smiled. _"It's not so bad! It's nice in there!"_

"It is?" Willow and the others asked while Buster rubbed his head.

_"It's cozy! And you enter this wonderful dream!"_

"That's the dream state I always theorized about." Willow mentioned as she thought about it. Buster already went inside after that before Sage decided to go in as well. Circuot felt weird being here alone with Willow.

"Circuit… Can I talk to you?" Willow asked as she led Circuit somewhere safe near some building that lead to another route. Either way the place wasn't for her at the moment, though some trainers said that pass it is the Kalos version of Victory Road.

_"Of course…"_ Circuit said as he lay down beside her. They shared a silence by the bubbling creek.

_"Is there… Something you wanted?"_

"You know that no matter what I'll always help you right?" Willow asked Circuit and he looked confused for a moment.

_"Y-yeah. Of course! And I you!"_

"Great to know… So… You don't have to hide anything from me. I'll help you throw anything… Is there anything you want to talk about?" Willow asked as Circuit paused, trying to figure out why she was doing this and saying this stuff. Then his heart stopped beating for a moment. _'Did she know what was bothering me? She can read minds…'_ he thought as he looked at her with a smile.

_"Nope! I'm fine. Nothing at all."_

"You sure? Nothing you want to tell me?" Willow pressed as Circuit gulped silently.

_"Um… There is one question."_

"Yes?" Willow asked as she looked at Circuit, patiently waiting for him to ask the question.

_"Um… If… If a Pokémon wasn't exactly what you wanted… Like… Maybe they can't do certain things right away or maybe weren't as fast or exactly what you wanted… What would you do to that Pokémon?"_

"I don't… Really understand the question. A pokemon is what they are… And if there are struggles then… There are struggles. Why?"

"_No reason… It's just that… You wouldn't leave them would you?"_

"Circuit?" Willow asked it looked as if she was getting somewhere that meant a lot to Circuit at this point. The pokemon was panting, as if holding something back.

_"I mean… All Pokémon are different, but what about the ones that aren't picture perfect to the trainer? Why…. Why do they get left behind? Why aren't they good enough? So what if you don't inherit everything from your mom right? Why… Aren't I good enough?" _Circuit finally said as Willow picked up the small electric pokemon and held him there for a while, enduring the little sparks that tickled his legs. There was silence between them now. _"Can I help in the battle with the gym leader? Please… Even if I have to return… Let me help too…"_ She felt Circuit go limp in her arms before she returned him into his Great Ball. She started to walk, enjoying what she could before going to the gym.

The door opened and Willow is greeted with a familiar scene before her. The man standing by the pillars were the victors names were written was there. Always there for the same reason well. Cheer on the challenge to give them a confidence boost, and help them win. She felt sick when she entered these doors, but kept on going. "Here to challenge the gym leader? Good for you! Now Viola uses bug type Pokémon, so they won't do well with fire or flying types. Got those and your good to go! Here's some water… For goo luck!" the man said with a smile.

"Thanks… Come out Sage. I know you don't like being there for long." She said as Sage shook his body once out. He jumped on her shoulders and stayed there for a moment, taking in the air and looking at the pictures of bug pokemon.

"_Gosh it's so great to be out of that thing! I don't want anything more then to just be on your shoulder right now."_ Sage said lovingly which caused Willow to blush a bit.

"Thanks…" she said as she petted him. Willow felt peace all of a sudden, and she would have to thank Sage for it. She walked over to the white pole and peered down. "Hmmm… I guess we go down here." She muttered as Sage peered down.

_"Should we jump down?"_

"No, that's not a good idea. We don't know what's down there."

_"Only one way to find out!" _Sage said as he jumped down, causing Willow's eyes to widen. "SAGE!" she called as she jumped down as well. Holding onto the pole. This pole was slippery! She slid all the way down at maxium speed with Sage.

"WEB!" she called as she caught Sage and held him close as they made contact with the web, it bent under their weight, but bounced right back up. With Willow and Sage bouncing a bit. "…Oh… My… Arcesus…" Willow said as Sage looked around in awe. This whole room was a giant spider web! There were students here as well, waiting for the challenger. Willow continued to look around the dark space and she saw what appeared to be Viola. "I think that's her…"

_"Well lets fight her!"_

"Hold on… You almost killed yourself today... And I want you to look. See this web… We have to follow the path."

_"And if we don't?"_

"Trust me… We have to or get thrown out. This is like part of the trails thing."

_"Awwwwwwwwww… Alright…"_ Sage mopped as Willow made her way on the lines of the web to different trainers, sometimes causing droplet's or water to come down with every step. Sage did a good job in this gym actually. Given to his typing and speed, and attentiveness to Willow he was amazing! He even learned a new move called Howl. Buster helped out sometimes of course, but who really took the cake was Sage. When Willow finally made it to the only solid ground in this bottom level of the gym she gasped for breath. It was like walking a tightrope. Sage looked ready to go, and looked at Viola in a challenging manner. Viola was a blond haired young woman, who wore a camera over her neck. She didn't look all that threatening to be honest. Viola smiled at the Pokémon and took a picture of it.

"Yes! Work it! I love it! The determination in your eyes! The trainer in the background gasping for breath!" Viola went on as Willow got herself up. "Okay… We both know the drill… Fight… Badge… Woo-hooo!" Willow said as Viola gave a small laugh at the trainer that wanted to challenge her.

"I see!" Viola said as she looked into the trainer's eyes. "That determined expression… That glint in your eyes that says your up to the challenge…" Viola began, making Willow pause for a bit, looking from side to side. She wasn't used to someone paying this much attention to her features before, but Viola was a photographer. All those pictures in the top floor were all hers.

"It's fantastic! Just fantastic! Is this your first time challenging a gym?" Willow knew it was her first time here so she nodded her head yes. "Fantastic!" Viola responded to which Willow shrugged. _'Sure really likes to say that word… Well it's better then her shouting EPIC in my ear.'_ Willow thought with a nod.

"Young trainer… Whether it's the tears of frustratain that follow a loss or the blossoming of joy that comes with victory… They're both great subjects to my camera~" Viola said as she began to take picture of Willow from different angles, saying 'fantastic'.

"W-well I'm glad that you have something for your art! Is that the only art you do? With trainers wins or losses?"

"No, no, no! I do other pictures as well! Hmmm… You got a nice body… Would you like to be a model?"

"No thanks. I'm good."

_"Willow? What's a model?"_

"It'll be fun! I'll pay you a decent pay!"

"It's fine, really. Let's just get on with the battle."

_"What is a model Willow?"_ Sage would ask in the background as he looked at both trainers.

"Suit yourself… My lens is always focused on victory though! I won't let anything ruin the shot!" Viola shouted and Willow knew not that it was go time! Viola took one last picture and Sage was out in front as she released her first pokemon Surskit. Now Willow had never seen a Pokémon like this before in her entire life. It was a blue four-legged spider thing with a yellow hat and blushing cheeks. It was adorable, but Willow knew better. She knew to expect the unexpected, but she wasn't prepared for this.

"Ember Sage!" Willow decided to start out strong to end the bugs life, but Viola just smiled.

"Bubble!" she commanded as the clash between Ember and Bubble collided, casuing an explosion that really injured Sage more. Willow couldn't believe it! The Bug knew a water type move! "Sage are you alright? If you are then use Howl! Get your power up!" Willow commanded as Viola had Surskit use Water Sport. "Damn it…" she muttered to herself as Sage howled, raising his attack. "Sage! Use tackle!" Willow was desperate to use something against Surskit that will hurt it a lot! Sage began his tackle, charging right in.

"Quick attack!" called Viola as the Surskit attacked Sage right back and knocked Sage down. The fox skidded across the floor, it's tackle hardly doing any damage. Willow couldn't risk her Pokémon get hurt again! She had to take back Sage.

"Return Sage!" and Sage went back, looking shocked that he was being called. She never would have done that before. As always stayed in the battles till the end! Willow knew that he wasn't going to be happy, but she had no choice! Bubble could seriously hurt him again! And it was faster then Sage, guaranteeing that it will hit first every time, and with water sport in effect Sage wouldn't be much help. So she took a chance… And released Circuit into the field.

The electrike was surprised to be out in the battlefield. He looked around at saw Surskit. "Circuit! I don't know what you can do… But I'm sure your stronger then that bug!" Willow said as Circuit nodded his head. "Tackle!" she commanded and Circuit ran at full speed at Surskit, but missed. She skidded onto the wet ground, his fur sparking.

_"Nah-nah! You can hurt me! Your too slowwwww!"_ said the Surskit as Viola ordered him to use quick attack. Surskit did this while darting across the water and hit Circuit, and got… A little surprise. The spark coming from Circuit furs were the cause of Surskit rather still behavior. He… Was paralyzed. Circuit began to chuckle at the state of the Surskit and Viola looked surprise as well. She as tried to get Surskit moving again Willow was ordering Circuit to do leer, before finally doing a tackle attack. Just when Surskit started to move Circuit tackled him, and the blue Pokémon slide across the wet ground, passed out.

"Yes! Good job Circuit!" Willow said as Circuit barked in happiness. He was useful… He was useful! His fur sparked once again, and he felt something inside him. He wanted to release something! Something building inside of him! And all the water on the ground began to spark as well.

"Well let's see you take this on! Come on out Vivillion!" and out came the most beautiful butterfly Willow had ever seen. It was pink, with light blue and white patterns on it's wings, and it did the most enchanting little noise. "Alright… Let's do this again Circuit!" Willow said, taking one more chance, though her instinct was telling her no, she just had a feeling.

_"Of course!"_

_"Your luck ends now challenger. Now that I am here, you have no chance."_

_"We shall see! I am Circuit! My mother is Electra! And I will be fighting you!"_ Circuit declared as he went into action, his fur sparking up. "Go Circuit!" Willow said as Circuit fired electricity from his fur and onto Vivillion, but she seemed fine, just a little static went through her is all. Circuit and Willow looked shocked for a moment. "Huh… Looks like your electric move had no bite. What's wrong?" Viola asked as Circuit stepped back.

_"How cute… The little pup wants to play rough with the adults?"_ Vivillion said as she continued to flap her wings. "Infestation!" called out Viola and Circuit was hit with small looking power of some kind that made him feel itchy… And… REALLY Hurt!

Circuit tried to get ride of the itchiness, but there was nothing he could do. "Return!" she called to Circuit as he tried to get the powder off. "Buster…" Willow said as she released her last hope. Buster. Though a new recruit, proved to be something. Buster popped out and yawned while looking at Vivillion.

_"OH! I get to fight now!" _Buster said as he jumped up and down. Vivillion laughed and Viola was interested. She wondered what a water Pokémon could do. She clearly had the upper hand in types.

"Sonic Boom!" Willow punched her fist into her open palm and Buster wagged his tails, releasing a sonic boom into Vivillion and for some reason she didn't dodge. It had clearly hurt her, but she didn't move. Viola realized and gasped, taking a quick photo. Circuits attack might have not done damage, but it did one thing… It paralyzed Vivillion, and Viola had no other Pokémon to switch too.

"Come on girl! Get out of it! Use infestation again!" Viola ordered as Willow commanded another sonic boom from Buster, and he did just that. It worked so why not? Vivillion was hit again before it began to move again to do infestation. Buizel felt the itchiness, but resisted the temptation to scratch. He had to keep on fighting! "Finish it Buizel! Use another Sonic Boom!" Willow commanded as Buster did a direct hit and Vivillion went down before getting brought back inside of it's pokeball. A clap could be heard in the entire gym. Everyone watched, including someone Willow didn't expect to see there. She saw Calem, and Mark, though Mark wasn't clapping. Though she had to wonder one thing, and that was what were they doing here? Calem should have beaten this gym already and Mark… She wasn't sure. Maybe he was starting his journey?

"Trainer! You have opened my eyes to new depth in my art!" Viola said as Willow looked back at the gym leader. "Wow um… Thank you."

"We can still do a modeling thing-"

"No… Thank you. I am fine doing what I am doing."

"I was just kidding around! You struggled a bit at first, but you pulled through!" Viola patted Willow on the back. "Good job… Take this badge. It shows that you have beaten me. And some money as a normal conciliation along with TM83… Anyway you… No. You are your Fenniken have shown me a whole new depth of field!"

"We did?"

"Yes! You have taught me something here trainer! And now if you want to go back upstairs, then I suggest going behind the tent and going up the stairs." Viola said with a smile, and when Willow left Viola had a scowl on her face. "Damn it… Alexa you win this round…"

"Wow… Thanks!" Willow said as she ran up the stairs. She felt… Exhausted and giddy!

"Woo-hooo! Wouldja look at that Bug Badge! Nice! Very nice future champ!" said the man near the pillars. It seemed like Mark and Calem were waiting for her as well. How they got up before her she didn't know.

"Hey Calem!"

"Hey Yarrow! I'm just here to see how you're doing along with your new Pokémon Circuit?"

"Yeah! You know he did something big today. He was able to control his electricity for a little bit and paralyzed the main leader's Pokémon!"

"I take that your enjoying yourself?" Calem asked and Willow blushed a bit.

"Yeah… It's a but embarrassing though…"

"What's embarrassing about it?"

"Just… I don't know… How I was acting before and… How things really seem different this time." Willow says as Mark stands by quietly before leaving. She wasn't sure why Mark was there, but she hoped it was for good reasons.

"Okay Yarrow… Let's go to the Professor!" Calem said with a smile as Willow placed Mark out of her mind and followed Calem to Lumious City. They made it the town's gate, and beyond she saw a garden and a huge fountain. She couldn't wait to get there finally and get to the bottom of why she was here in the first place. To see Sycamore and get answers of why she was chosen.

"So… I beat the leader… Can I pass now?" Willow asked as the woman smiled. "Sure! I mean… I'm glad that you beat my sister, now it's time to claim my bet."

"Huh?" Willow asked but then the woman was gone. She had no idea what the bet was about, and didn't want to figure it out either. She just wanted to go through the garden and see Sycamore. Simple Right?

**And End of Chapter Three, and wow! This was a long one! I am doing my best to write this as quickly as I can. Again if there are any reviews please give them to me, I love reading them as long as they are helpful. Also Buizel can only be breed in X and Y game, and I was lucky enough to get one early in a friends trade. Again I wanted to make something a little more interesting with the Buizel. By the way guys, what do you think of Buizel? Also what do you think this bet was between the sister and Viola? Should it be revealed? **

**I also have been thinking about who the next one on my team should be… And if you guys have suggestions on who the next Pokémon on Willow's team should be then please give it to me via review.**


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